The City Prolific: Weekend Events Nov. 15 - 18

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14

LACMA Liveread of Manhattan, Directed by Jason Reitman

This is the second installment of Jason Reitman’s  2012–2013 Live Read series.  Jason chooses a surprise celebrity cast to read Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman's script of Manhattan on the Bing Theater stage. What a magical event. Go.

STANDBY ONLY: A stand-by line will form at 6:30 pm at the Hammer Building Ticket Office. Seating not guaranteed; guests will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis.

$10

LACMA
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036

FRIDAY, NOV 15

Scion A/V Presents Dust La Rock and Cody Hudson: A Lovely Sort of Death

"A Lovely Sort of Death" marks the collaboration between Jokers of the Scene and visual artists Dust La Rock and Cody Hudson to accompany their exhibition of the same name. Opening reception Friday night.

Free with RSVP.

Opening Reception 6:00–9:00pm

661 N. Spaulding Ave
Los Angeles CA 90036

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16

The Great Los Angeles Walk

Get out of your car, and on your feet!  Every Saturday before Thanksgiving, Angelenos meet up on the street, and WALK ACROSS LOS ANGELES. But nobody walks in LA, right? Wrong!

This year, meet other walkers on the front steps of downtown’s Walt Disney Concert Hall (at 1st and Grand). There will be a speaker or two to kick things off, at around 8:45, so get there early. The Walk leaves PROMPTLY at 9.  They're expecting over 250 hikers this year!

From the Walt Disney Concert Hall, you'll walk west on 1st, which turns into Beverly Blvd. And then north on Virgil, west on Melrose Avenue, to the end -- when you'll then make a left on to Santa Monica Boulevard, which you'll take to the ocean.

Free!

Start point: Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(but you can join up anywhere along the route)

The City Prolific: Weekend Events Nov 2 - 4

Halloween is over. Hopefully we have recovered from our sugar crashes and hangovers.  Just in time, because this weekend is all about sugar skulls and tequila.  This weekends events encompass two things: Dia de los Muertos and Downtown L.A.  It will be colorful.  It will be fun.  It will be very L.A.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Downtown Dia de los Muertos at Grand Park

Have you been to Grand Park yet? Have you been to an LA Dia de los Muertos event yet? Both are necessities. And tonight, you have a great reason to do both.

¡Spectacular altars, food trucks, bands and full bar en el centro de Los Ángeles.

Performances by Mariachi el Bronx, El Conjunto Nueva Ola, Upground, Buyeongo, Trio Ellas, and more. Plus mucho DJs spinning all night!  Altars curated by Victor Payan and Pocha Pena.

Free / Gratis

5pm-11pm

Check the full lineup here.

East Side Luv's 7th Annual Night of the LUVing DEAD

Have you ever been to Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights? It is one of L.A.'s exquisite community gems, and this is sure to be a quintessential Angeleno block party.  Come out and celebrate Life & Death.  Feel free to bring something to contribute to the ALTAR in memory of a loved one.   It is highly recommended that you take the Metro Goldline Train in & out because parking is limited. There will be 2 Parking Lots, but they may go quickly as they are expecting thousands of attendees!

Hosted by Richard Montoya of Culture Clash and Alexis De La Rocha of Beatmo & MorrisseyOke

¡¡¡ Day of the Dead Face Painting Highly Encouraged !!!

Free

2pm till 2am

Outdoors till 12am
Inside till 2am

At the MTA Goldline Mariachi Plaza Stage
Pleasant Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90033

Check the full lineup here.

Ready, Set, Run!

Remember when I wrote about my Free Run Days?  The product of that endeavor is now realized.  Watch it here:

The City Prolific: Weekend Events October 26 - 28

It's Halloween in LA. That means it's 80 degrees, the Santa Anas are relentless, and your jack-o-lanterns are moldy and rotting.  Get out and get your spook on.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26

NewFilmMakers October Screening

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles holds its October screening tonight of a dozen new short films at Sunset Gower Studios. There are pre- and post-receptions for each program, a filmmakers’ lounge, and audience Q&A sessions.  It's a fun way to see the studio campus, and support and network with new filmmakers.

$6

Three programs: 6:30 pm, 8:00 pm and the third at 11:00 pm

Sunset Gower Studios

1438 N. Gower St. Box 83

Hollywood CA 90028

Friday Night Flicks Presents "The Descent"

A group of close female friends on a yearly adventure vacation find themselves trapped and hunted in a series of caves. The expedition takes a turn for the worse after a rock fall leaves them stranded in an uncharted cave with no map and only a handful of supplies. As tensions arise in the group, they are faced with another danger—one whose love of the dark is as strong as its lust for blood.  Pack a picnic basket, lawn seating.

Free

8pm

Pershing Square
532 S Olive St
Los Angeles 90189

Endeavour

Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Associated Press

Endeavour started at NASA.  It went to space several times over several years. Then it went back to NASA, before it was shipped to LAX and did some fly-overs over landmarks across the nation including Griffith Park and Hollywood, and then it went back to LAX, before it was carted across town to the California Science Museum.

I missed every step of the journey.  I received a text from my husband, "Endeavour over Hollywood right now!" and made it out to my office parking lot just a few minutes too late.  During the cross-town, pilgrimage-like (past meets present, wheels and handcarts) phase of its trek, I didn't have a chance to drive to Culver City where its route seemed to be mapped.  I missed seeing it carted along boulevards throughout Los Angeles, missed watching its wheels turn a corner while its wings nearly brushed lookers-on standing on their balconies, missed observing the careful engineering of the tow, the workers calling halt and reversing the track by two feet to get the turn right.

It flew all about my mind, though. Why is it here, how many people are working on getting it from point A to point B, how long ago did they map the route, will they feel any pride after it reaches its final destination, how did the California Science Museum get it (there must have been an RFP), are the men in the orange suits LAX employees or NASA employees, were the people on the balcony scared?

The LA Times posted a time lapse video of the entire local journey. It helps satiate the disappointment I felt in not having been a witness. It also fills me with pride that so many others got to see it, particularly  those who live in the lower-middle class areas that this astounding thing crawled through.  What a privilege.

Click here to watch the time-lapse. (Tip: watch it full screen.)

The City Prolific: Weekend Events October 12 - 14

It is officially Autumn in LA, as evidenced by these refreshing temperatures and tumbling skies.  Last weekend, we went to one of our favorite events of the year, the Eagle Rock Music Festival. We've lived in LA for four years now, and each year the Eagle Rock Music Festival has served as a portal into the autumn season.  I love observing the repurposing of property at the festival. Tire shops become rock venues, parking lots become dance halls, gas stations become garden bars.

Still a whole bunch of outdoor activities this weekend! Screenings, art festivals, food. Never a dull moment around here.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

ArtNight Pasadena

The City of Pasadena is celebrating a full weekend of art events.  Tonight, enjoy a free city-wide evening of art, music and entertainment as Pasadena’s most prominent arts and cultural institutions swing open their doors.

Free

6 - 10pm

All over Pasadena

Free shuttles will loop throughout the evening with stops at each venue. Park at any one venue and ride to the others.  Visit the website for a venue map.

Unwanted: A Blacklight Poster Exhibit

As part of Nightmare City, its month-long festival of ghoulish cinema, Cinefamily is transforms its upstairs office into a temporary art gallery to showcase horror-themed blacklight posters. Check out the radiant popular artform once relegated to smoke-filled suburban basements. Comic artist Sammy Harkham does the curating. The opening night party features DJs picked by Mount Analog's Mahssa Taghinia and a cauldron of psychedelic programming from Cinefamily’s band of basement dwellers.

7:30pm

Cinefamily
611 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036

The City Prolific: Weekend Events October 4 - 7

Last weekend was one of my favorite events of the year: the West Hollywood Book Fair. I scored two great reads, and sat around on the lawn of park, under a hot, hot sun.

There's finally been a break in the weather. It's no longer scorching, but it is still beautiful. Get out and enjoy it.

ALL WEEKEND

Culture Collide Festival

FILTER Magazine’s Culture Collide is a four-day international festival welcoming artists from 25 countries and counting, bringing their unique perspectives on music and culture to LA’s East Side for a musical melting pot of live performances, film screenings, and happy hours featuring food and drink from around the world. The festival will once again end with the Block Party, a free all-day event in Echo Park on Sunday, October 7th.

Wristbands $20

Thursday - Sunday

How to Love Los Angeles

Take the train to Union Station.

Yes, LA has a metro.  Ride it, take note of its uncanny timeliness (trains arrive on schedule to-the-minute). Observe the diversity of the ridership. Check out the neighborhood-centric art at the stations. Walk around Union Station, gawk and its beauty, and realize that there is both history and architecture in LA.

Bar-hop in Downtown LA.
Go to the dives like the Down and Out, Bar 107 and King Eddy's Saloon (John Fante drank there). Then, go to the swanky spots like Seven Grand, Varnish and The Edison.
Tip: Do this on a Wednesday or Thursday for maximum enjoyment, and minimum crowds. 

Get a steak and a martini at Musso and Frank.
Musso and Frank is not only in the heart of old Hollywood, but also embodies the heart of Hollywood. It's been there forever, and so have its waiters. Charlie Chaplin was a regular.
Tip: Take the train, wander the area. Do not drive into Hollywood. Seriously, don't do it.

See a movie at The Vista.
Screw the Arclight. The Vista is king.  It's an old-style movie theatre with a grand, gilded ceiling, red velvet curtains, and a gem of a manager.

Ride your bike from Santa Monica to Hermosa Beach and back.
You can rent bikes for $20/day at any of the major beaches. This activity will leave you dripping with gratitude for life and its wonders. I do not exaggerate. You'll see dolphins and surfers and the weirdos of Venice, and you'll feel like you're in paradise.  Because you are.

How to Love Los Angeles will be a monthly post.  I'll list five different things to do every month. Do these things and you're guaranteed to uncover LA's unique charm, and fall irreversibly in love with this city.  No looking back.

This list was for beginners - those new to LA, or those only here for a day or two. I'll get into things like art, culture, theatre and entertainment in later lists. 

The City Prolific: Weekend Events Sep 28 - 30

This weekend is about art. Art art art. As was last weekend. Did you see The Clock? Incredible.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28

Stairclimb for LA

Still need to get in your workout for the day? Clim nearly 1,700 stairs to the top of the West Coast's tallest building and be a part of the 19th Annual Stair Climb for Los Angeles. Each step you take benefits the impactful work of the Ketchum-Downtown YMCA.  From 1-9pm Hope St will be shut down to make room for food trucks, music stages, a beer garden, a rock-climbing wall, and more.

Free

1 - 9pm

YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles
401 S Hope St
Los Angeles 90071

“The Wizard of Oz” Presented by Front Porch Cinema

The Santa Monica Pier is LA's front porch. Front Porch Cinema, co-produced by Eat|See|Hear, LA’s premier outdoor movie event series, will feature an eclectic line-up of movies, pre-show DJ, interactive booths, refreshing drinks and delicious snacks under the stars, complimented by a cool, ocean breeze. The series kicks off tonight with the 75th anniversary celebration of “The Wizard of OZ.” Moviegoers are encouraged to walk the yellow brick road and dress as their favorite character.

Free

6 -11pm

Santa Monica Pier
100 Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica 90401

The City Prolific: Weekend Events Sept 21 - 23

Autumn ought to be the time of Pumpkin Spice Lattes and knitted scarves. But no, not so in LA. It's hot. Iced coffee hot.

There's SO MUCH happening this weekend, all crammed into Friday and Saturday. Get out!

FRIDAY, SEPT. 21

NewFilmMakers September Screening

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles holds its September screening tonight of a dozen new short films at Sunset Gower Studios. There are pre- and post-receptions for each program, a filmmakers’ lounge, and audience Q&A sessions.  It's a fun way to see the studio campus, and support and network with new filmmakers.

$6

Three programs: 6:30 pm, 8:00 pm and the third at 9:30 pm

Sunset Gower Studios
1438 N. Gower St. Box 83
Hollywood CA 90028

Chocolate and Art Show Experience

This art experience is currently one of the largest underground art shows in the Los Angeles area! Free chocolate fondue, live music, art, nude body painting, and more.  KGB Studio is an ever-evolving creative space, a hidden gem located east of Chinatown. The Crispy Food Truck will be on hand.

$10

7pm
*free parking 7pm-2am,

KGB Gallery
1640 North Spring Street
Los Angeles 90012 – be sure to use this zip code so you don’t get lost!

Busy in Paradise

I've registered for the Malibu International Half Marathon.  Look at this course.

Beautiful.

I imagine that the running will be a breeze alongside the paradisical views of the PCH.  And then I remember that I currently struggle to run more than four miles straight through.  My last half marathon was nearly a year ago.  And these days, balancing writing, acting, and work, I'm finding that I have no time to run. Truly, no time. Unless, of course, I were to utilize the early mornings.  I've set my alarm for 6:15 am every morning this week, and every morning I've slammed my zombie paw on the ringing button, shutting it down.

I've been doing a lot of walking, though.  That counts for training, right?

The City Obscure: Weekend Events Sept. 14 - 16

Last weekend one was one of working followed by winding down. One of my favorite places in the world to wind down is Canter's Deli. If you eat in the dining room, you can order cocktails from the bar in the Kibbitz Room. How much will a classic Manhattan with a side car run you? Six dollars. Yes, you can still get a cheap drink in LA.

This weekend's events consist primarily of, once again, outdoor screenings. Perfect, since it's hot as hell outside!

FRIDAY, SEPT. 14

Rod Serling: Other Dimensions

UCLA’s Film and Television Archive continues the Rod Serling: Other Dimensions series with a double feature tonight at 7:30 pm. In addition to creating The Twilight Zone (can you imagine a world without it?), Serling also amassed an impressive list of other credits, including screenwriter for The Yellow Canary (1963), a mystery starring Barbara Eden and Pat Boone as a n’er do well singing idol who must man up when his son is kidnapped. The screening will be followed by Assault on a Queen (1966), a caper movie with Frank Sinatra. Pat Boone will appear in person at tonight’s screening! Hollywood royalty! Man, LA is so great.

$10

Billy Wilder Theater

Courtyard Level, Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Boulevard (intersection of Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards)
Los Angeles, CA 90024

The City Prolific: Weekend Events Sept 7 - 9

Summer might be winding down, but thank goodness the outdoor screenings aren't!

FRIDAY SEPT 7 

First Friday on Abbot Kinney

Clothing stores, galleries and restaurants stay open late on this lovely stretch of Venice. Lots of live music, plenty of food trucks. Hardly any parking.

Primitivo will feature a happy hour with $5 wines and $4 sangria, from 4-7pm and 10-11pm

Free

6-10pm

Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291

SATURDAY, SEPT 8

Swimming with Sharks Closing Party

Boo. I'm sad this is ending, because I didn't get to go to one this year, and I can't go to this one. But you should! Splash in the rooftop pool, swallow a few free jello shots.  KCRW DJ's Mario Cotto, Mathieu Schreyer and Travis Holcombe spin.  Bring waterguns and your A-game. Get there early!

Free for first 100 with RSVP

1pm to Sundown

The Standard Downtown
550 South Flower at 6th Street